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This did not leave me feeling animated

I love animation, especially in the short form. Sometimes I even prefer it to actors and actresses and long plots and stories that twist and turn. The beauty of these compiled presentations is that even if one doesn't float your boat the next one might be unbelievably great. Here we have "The Animation Show" the sixth version of the series that began in 2003. Mike Judge of "Beavis and Butt-head" fame is responsible for this particular group of over 20 shorts.

I'm a big fan of Mike Judge and have been ever since I saw "Frog Baseball", a particularly demented production that introduced us to the wonderful idiocy of Beavis and his buddy. Unfortunately, Judge is not the creative force for any of these films. The group as a whole is embarrassingly weak with very few highlights.

First, let's take a look at the ones worth watching. This won't take long. There is Angry Unpaid Hooker" by Steve Dildarian. It's an enjoyable tale of a man's wife returning home unexpectedly, only to find her husband with a hooker who is demanding to be paid for her services. Number two is "Blind Spot", a French entry about a nearsighted grandmother, a clumsy robber, and a surveillance camera. This was both interesting and beautifully animated. Number three is "Hot Dog" by the legendary Bill Plympton. It's the second sequel to his Oscar-nominated short "Guard Dog". This time, our heroic dog assists the fire department and the results aren't pretty. But they are funny. Lastly (in the good category) is "This Way Up", a British production written and directed by Smith and Foulkes. The story concerns a pair of undertakers determined to do their job in regards to a specific burial no matter the obstacles they are confronted by. In my mind this is the star of the show.

The other entries range from mediocre all the way to unbelievably bad. One has to wonder what films didn't make the cut considering some of the garbage that made it to the screen. Of particular note as total trash is a piece that runs in three slightly different scenarios. The story, if that is what you choose to call it, concerns an animal that goes up to strangers who hesitate for a moment before petting him. They are rewarded by being bitten in the crotch. I'm not kidding. That's all that happens. It's not even worth mentioning the title of this nonsense.

Animation can be intensely entertaining, intelligent and rewarding. Aside for a few fleeting moments this collection does none of this. Almost nothing offends me but the lack of quality here could raise a stench of a landfill in mid-summer.